1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices for catching flies or other flying insects in a sanitary way, and then kills or allows the killing of the insects without using chemical sprays, fly swatters or fly catchers.
2. Background Art
The use of fly swatters to exterminate insects is well-known. In particular, a fly swatter includes a screen-like material to permit passage of air, which is necessary since household flies and other insects are highly sensitive to air pressure variations and could easily escape before being swatted. Thus, due to the reduction of air pressure provided by the holes of a screen-like material of a fly swatter, the fly has insufficient time to escape to avoid being swatted. However, the swatting process is highly unsanitary, and spreads the remains of the insect across the solid surface on which the fly had been resting. In the case where the fly is resting upon utensils used for handling food, or upon kitchen or table surfaces where food is handled, the use of a fly swatter is unsanitary and should be avoided, since insects can carry in their blood and body parts infectious and contagious diseases.
Chemical sprays are useful in killing flying insects, and are generally most effective when sprayed directly upon the insect. However, where the insects are in a kitchen, a table for food or on food itself, the use of sprays is inadvisable since chemical sprays are usually poisonous to human beings as well as to insects. Such chemical sprays are commonly found as aerosol sprays, and cannot be readily used where a fly or flying insect is resting upon a surface, such as, food, tableware, kitchen utensils or the like, which should not be sprayed with a poisonous substance, such as, insect spray.
Also well-known in the art are fly traps including devices such as sticky fly paper having a fly-attracting scent. Other types of fly-trapping devices include an ultraviolet light sources surrounded by electrified wires to shock and/or incinerate insects approaching the ultraviolet light source. While this means is generally sanitary, it is not selectively effective upon a particular fly. In such a situation, a particular fly may not be attracted to the sticky fly paper or the ultraviolet light source. Furthermore, fly paper is not reusable. Also, use of the ultraviolet light source and electrified wires is generally much more expensive and is cumbersome. The devices containing the ultraviolet source and electrified wires are generally not readily portable since they require the electrical power source.
Butterfly nets are designed so as to capture specimens in the field without damaging them.
U.S. Pat. No. 115,374 discloses a house-fly net which has a long and conical shape, with a flattened side, and a wire hoop at the top attached to a handle socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 132,733 discloses a fly-catcher which has a net hung on a hoop. Tongs, hung on a pivot, is closed by cords whereby the opening to the net is closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,178 discloses a transparent holder for guns, fishing rods and the like, which is formed from a single sheet of resilient, flexible, transparent material. The material is cut into an elongated, symmetrical, quadrilateral shape. The material is folded about its axis of symmetry, forming a top edge, an elongated side edge, and a shorter bottom edge. The elongated side edges are placed over one another and sewn together along the entire length; similarly, the bottom edges which overlap are sewn together along their entire length. A first strip having a hook-and-eye type fastener structure is attached to the sheet portion at a point somewhat below the top edge and located at the center of the sheet, and its sewn into place along its edges with the gripping side of the strip exposed. A second hook-and-eye type fastener strip, of identical width, is attached to the top of the underlying sheet at its center with a portion of the strip exposed. Upon insertion of an object into a pocket formed between the sheets, the casing may be closed by folding the top portion over at a point above the fist strip toward the facing sheet, so that the strips abut. The thread used is ultraviolet resistant thread, so that is resists rotting. An eyelet is inserted at the bottom of the holder through the two sheets so that in storage, the holder with the article retained within may be hung from the bottom eyelet by a nail.
British Patent No. 217,868 discloses a flytrap constructed from one or more sheets of material sealed along some of their edges so that the flytrap has an open mouth at one end and is closed at the other end, having the form of a cone or a hollow pyramid. The pyramidal form of the flytrap is capable of being collapsed by folding its edges together.
New Zealand Patent No. 35,954 discloses the use of transparent material in flycatchers.
Attention is also drawn to Japanese Published Utility Patent Application No. 53-107575 and Japanese Published Patent Application No. 55-58045.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,808 discloses a light-weight, transparent, elongated enclosure for catching flys. The enclosure is generally in the shape of a trapezoidal member, has an opening at a bottom end and at a top end. The transparent material is resiliently deformable. Two generally planar sheets of material are used, and are in overlying relationship, and are fastened together along opposed edges thereof. Squeezing together of the longest sides of the trapezoidal member by manual operation results in deformation of the two overlying sheets away from each other. This results in a continuous opening from a large side of the trapezoid at the bottom through to a top short, side of the trapezoid at the top. In operation, the fly catcher is squeezed manually to provide an opening as described above, and is then positioned above the fly to be caught. The fly, sensing the pressure due to movement of the descending fly catcher, flies upwardly and into the cone-shaped opening formed by the fly catcher. Pressure is then immediately released, and the sheets returned to their normal, generally planar state thus trapping the fly between the two sheets of transparent material. The fly can be exterminated by pressure if necessary. The remains of the fly are removed merely by repeating the manual squeezing operation on the sides of the fly catcher, permitting the remains to fall out of the enclosure. In practical use, a beginner needs some practice before he can easily and proficiently use the fly catcher. Also, the fly catcher is difficult for young children to use. The manufacturing cost of the fly catcher is higher than originally projected.